Unitary sectionable containers



Uited States Patent UNITARY SECTIONABLE CONTAINERS James Cage, ValleyStream, N.Y., assgnor to Reynolds Metals Company, Richmond, Va., acorporation of Delaware Filed May 17, 1957, Ser. No. 659,997

1 Claim. (Cl. 229-45) This invention relates to containers formaterials, wherein each container holds a continuous body of materialbut has a plurality of sections which are separately replurality ofseparate containers, which are assembled in a larger package, by nestingor otherwise. Such packaging is expensive, and it is not alwaysconvenient to extract the product from the separate containers; e.g., inthe'case of shortening and ice cream. ln the case of containers forgrease, the suggestion has been made in Fisher Patent No. 1,560,681 thatthe grease be wrapped in a spirally wound tube of paperboard, withcircumferential perforations to facilitate tearing away successivesections of the tube in order to expose successive portions of thegrease for ready removal. That form of packaging is open to the seriousobjection, in the case of perishable foodstulfs and the like, thatperforations would destroy the hermetic integrity of the tube, andconsequently a better means of providing a satisfactory sectionablecontainer for food products and the like has continued to be sought.

In accordance with the present invention, food products and othermaterials are conveniently packaged in containers which havesubstantially rigid wall sections, and a flexible sheet of impermeablematerial to hold the walls together in unitary, sealed relation. When aportion of the contents is to be removed from the container, theconnecting layer of impermeable material is cut through around the jointbetween adjacent wall sections, which releases one or more of the wallsections so that the portion of the contents within the detached section0r sections may conveniently be removed therefrom. A strong container isthus provided which has hermetically sealed side walls, and yet isreadily severable into separate sections containing measured amounts ofthe packaged product. The invention further provides end closures tocomplete the package, and one or both of the end closures is replaceableon the next section after the preceding section has been removed. Therecapped container is useful for storing the remaining balance of thecontents, and visibly indicates how much of the contents remains.

The embodiments of the invention suitable for particular purposes arevaried, and for a better understanding of the invention reference is nowmade to the present preferred embodiments thereof which are shown, forpurposes of illustration only, in the accompanying drawings. In thedrawings:

Fig. l shows a semi-diagrammatic section taken through the axis of acontainer embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, in reduced scale, of the container shownin Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to Fig. l, but showing the cap and uppersection detached from each other, from '2,969,902 Patented Jan. 31, 1961'ice the balance of the container, and from the Whole body of materialpackaged in the container;

Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3, after the upper section hasbeen removed andthe cap has been replaced;

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and initially to theembodiment illustrated in Figs. 1-5, a single body of material 10 (e.g.,shortening) is poured into a container 14, which preferably has a looseliner 12 (e.g., foil or paper). The side wall of the container 14 iscomposed of a series of inner cylindrical rings 16 of substantiallyrigid material (e.g., paperboard), arranged in abutting end-to-endrelationship to form a cylindrical inner wall, and a series of likeouter cylindrical rings 18 similarly arranged to form a cylindricalouter wall. The inner and outer rings can be of different materials, butare preferably of the same materials, and are relatively slidableagainst each other. The joints where the inner rings 16 abut each otherare offset relative to the corresponding joints between the outer rings18, and each of the inner rings 16 is adhesively secured to one of therings 18, so that a series of telescoping nesting sec- 1 tions 20, eachconsisting of an inner ring 16 and an outer ring 18 (Fig. 4), arecreated. The assembled sections 20 are secured together by a sheet ofilexible impermeable material adhesively secured around the outside ofthe rings 18. Such sheet could be applied also, or alternatively, aroundthe inside of the rings A16. The said sheet is preferably on the outsideand in the form of a label 22 consisting of printed aluminum foil 24laminated to a paper backing 26 (Fig. 2). The outer circular edges ofthe rings 18 are preferably beveled to create grooves 28 around thejoints where the outer rings 18 abut. The label 22 is preferably pressedat least partly into said grooves 28 in order to indicate Where thelabel should be cut to sever the sections 20 from the container.

Metal or like plates 30 and 31 close the opposite ends of container 14.The top plate 30, which is preferably recessed, is tightly crimpedaround the upper end of a top ring 18 of the same diameter as the rings18. When the plate 30 is in closed position, the ring 18 abuts the topedge of the adjacent ring 18 therebelow, and the lower surface of theflat central area of the plate 30 abuts the top edge of the adjacentring 16. The plate 30 and ring 1S together form a removable andreplaceable cap 32 for the container 14. The bottom plate 31 ispreferably of the same shape as the plate 30, and is crimped around thelower ends of a like bottom ring 18". A bottom ring 16 is secured to thebottom ring 18" and has its lower edge abutting the inner recessedsurface of the plate 31. The ring 16 is preferably of the same diameterand length as the rings 16, and the ring 18" is of such lesser lengththat the upper edges of the rings 16 and 18 are positioned to abut thelower edges of the rings 16 and 18 Anext above. The label 22 extendsaround the whole outside surfaces of the rings 18 and 18", and theplates 30 and 31 overlap and crimp around the label 22 to form sealedclosures at the ends of the container.

When the material 10 is to be consumed, the label 22 is slit around thegrooves 28 between the cap 32 and the next section 20, and between thatsection and the section immediately below it. The cap 32 and theuppermost section 20 are then detached from each other and from thebalance of the container, as shown in Fig. 4, leaving the upper end ofthe body of the material 10 with its liner 12 exposed. The liner 12 isthen pulled away from the material 10, and severed by drawing it againstthe upper edge of the adjacent ring 16. A length of exposed material 10is thus presented for convenient removal, as by a blade drawn across theupper edge of the adjacent ring 16. In that manner, a measured amount ofthe material 10 is obtained for consumption, and the remaining body ofmaterial in the container has its upper Surface ilushwith ,the upper.edge. of the said adjacent Yring. 16, so that the said remainingmaterial will be engaged by the plate 30, without anlintervening airspace, when the: 0211132. isreplaced The liner. 12` is .no tessential,`but it is useful in preventingtheapand-pontaineLsee; tionsl frombrushing against-material110'during open-ing alaridos.ine.` When morematerial vvis required, the cap :32; is; ,gainvremoved the next section`2 0 is -liftedwavi/.ay-,- the liner 12ais again torn awayr against' theupperwedge of the next ringV lo, the exposed material is again removed,in a rneasnred amount determined by the vertical length of the rings;16, and the cap 3;2 is replaced toagain close the container. Theycontainer thus diminishes in contents in measured amounts, and at thesame time diminishes in outward appearance, so that the consumer cantellat a glance when the supplyof material has been reduced to a ,pointwhere `additional material should be obtained.

The containers of thel inventiony have the advantage of indicating totherconsumer howamuchrof the packaged product remainsin the package,androf saving the space in crowded refrigerators, freezers and otherstorage places, whichis wasted' bypartially-filledcontainersofconventional construction.

While I have illustrated and described present preferred embodiments ofthe invention, and methodsof practicing the same, it will berecognizedfthat theinvention may. be otherwise variously embodied andpracticed within the scope` of the lfollowing claim.

I claim:

A sectionableV container` comprising' a bottom plate; a.bottom Wallsection includinga bottom outerringex-` tendingupwardyirom said bottomplate, and a bottom inner ring having the lower portion of its outer.surface adhesivelyfsecured to the inner surface of saidbottom outerring, said bottom inner ring extending for a substantial distance abovethe upper edge ofy said bottom outer ring; a plurality of: intermediate`Wall sections telef scopingly superposedtabove saidbottom wall sectionin the shape of a tube, each.said intermediate wall section includinganinner ring having `the lower partfofits outer surface adhesivelysecuredto .the upper part of the inner surfaceofan outer ring, each saidinner ring having an outer diameter substantially equal to the innerdiameter of the outer ring, each said intermediate outer ring having itslower part surrounding the upper part of an inner ring next below inslidable telescoping engagement; a cap closing the upper end ofthecpntainer, said cap including a top plate and a top outer ring extendingdownwardly from theedseeofsaid 19p plate, Seidel-Iter top riashavif aninner diameter substantially equalto the outer diameter ofsaidxintermediate inner rings, said top outer ring surrounding the upperVpart of the inner ring-ofthe intermediate wall section located nextbelow, said outer rings having abutting edgesand being` beveled ,aroundtheir outer edges to form grooves jat the joints where the outer ringsabut; and, a substantially impermeable sheet adhesively secured to theouter surfaces of said top, intermediate, and bottom outer rings, saidsheet extending integrally acrosssaid joint between said outer rings,said sheet being indentedlinto said grooves to provideexternallyfvisiblgmarkings.at saidjoints, saidsheet initially for1r-ringal,substantially-impermeable barrier and a con-` nectineelementzamund.the Cantaiar, but beine Severble around.; 'd-;.ieints.bet-Yv.enadjacent Sectio@ t0. Permit them te, separated .fram each lother..

Relerenes Cited in theI Ifile of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS

